Sunday Night NHL Thoughts

So, I tried to watch a few minutes of the ASG with little TSM this evening. We were about 5 minutes into the game when he said “Daddy, this is really boring, can I go do some homework?” Now, Little TSM is 6, so it does take a lot to capture his attention. I am not one who likes to slag something for the sake of it, as others do. I will say however that an article in NorthJersey.com does a fantastic job or breaking down the issue:

“The game has become a farce. The players rarely throw a body check and barely pay attention to defense. The skills competition is an even bigger joke with supposed skills, such as the breakaway challenge (the NHL’s version of the slam dunk contest), that have little to do with the actual game. The time has come to scrap the entire weekend. If the lure of Montreal and the history of the Canadiens isn’t enough to save the event, nothing else will.”

Isn’t that what all- star games are? Baseball is the only game that doesn’t amend it’s play for the all star festivities, yet if god forbid a game goes long or a pitcher gets used for too long…. To me one of the problems is that the game used to be for the fans now it is for sponsors.

“The All-Star game already has been supplanted by the Winter Classic outdoor game as the centerpiece event of the NHL’s regular season. The league can build the outdoor game into an even bigger event and use it to showcase the sponsorship deals that usually are highlighted on All-Star weekend. What makes the Winter Classic work is that, unlike the All-Star game, it is a real game that counts in the standings and the players play it that way.”

I agree one hundred percent. I had a real interest in watching the Winter Classic, it was a novelty, it was cool, it brough back memories from my childhood and made my son want to play a game outside. I didn’t care that Leafs weren’t playing, or even that a Leaf wasn’t there to represent the team. Ditch this sham of a game and let the sponsors hob nob around this event. Invite the fan favorites to a a golf outing or the award show for the sponsors to enjoy….

“None of the All-Star games in any of the pro sports is any good anymore. The NHL has a head start on the other sports, though, because it already has another regular-season event that it can shift its focus to. Scrap the All-Star game. In time, no one will miss it.”

In time? No one will miss it now….

Which leads me to the next thought. Not sure how many of you who have caught this but, there are rumblings that they NHL may move the award ceremony to Las Vegas. If you have heard the story, it’s because a talking head has probably gone to long about how bad this would be for the sport. Come on folks. This is not worth the time to even debate. I don’t care where they hold the show. No offense, but Ron MacLean hosting anything is SOOOO hokey, SOOOO Canadian. It’s not that he isn’t good at what he does, it’s just we accept it for HNIC. The award show is a joke. Seriously, would anyone care if they did what the other sports did and just announced the winners? Hell stretch it out like baseball does and announce one every 3rd day so it lasts a month! So, I have about as much time for the question, “why take the “event” away from it’s element as I do for the notion it would be better in Las Vegas. Raise your hand if you have ever gone to the event. Would anyone go more or less if it were in Vegas? Ok, all we need is another excuse and we are off to Vegas, but you know what I mean. Would more unrelated stars to the game attend the event because it were in Las Vegas??? Would better or more sponsors be drawn to hockey because the award snoozer is being held in Las Vegas? Who cares! Put it in Timbuktu for all I care if you think that works. As long as I hear who the winners are I am really not interested (and I am an avid hockey fan). I don’t care what the acceptance speeches are, I don’t care what player is wearing what tuxedo, or is with what former actress. It’s not the least bit interesting. Sorry to be a buzz kill, but I just don’t get what all the fuss is about. I sometimes think the fuss is nothing more then reacting to change.

One response to “Sunday Night NHL Thoughts”

The Winter Classic as the showcase event makes a lot of sense…I like it. They could wrap other stuff around it to make it a full weekend thing like the All Star weekend….Hall of Fame induction ceremony and hall of fame game? Or, do a skills competition….NHLPA would have to agree to hold it during the break with two full teams not getting their break with the rest of the league (give’em a couple of days off following).